Flowers
by Alana Hikari-Chan
Summary: Dropped. Read at the risk of OC and OOC.
1. She Comes

My first exclusively J&D fic! A strange girl shows up one day. Who is she? What does she want? Who will fall in love with whom? Have fun, then review!  
~* Words *~ Thoughts  
@,-- Break in time/ POV change/ Scene change  
;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;  
  
@,-Flowers-'@  
  
part one: sandoverhead  
  
She Comes  
  
@,---*---'@  
  
The gold-haired elf looked down from the roof of the farmer's hut. The wine red highlights tipping the shining strands were stark against the aqua sky. Her hard, angry cinnamon eyes surveyed the village below her, the fine dark brows above knitting in thought. A slight breeze ruffled the petal-like strips of cloth hanging from her belt over her dark green pants.  
~* This is the place? Not very impressive. But I followed the directions exactly. Well, better check it out. *~  
She leaps down lightly, her bladed staff absorbing the shock of landing.  
  
@,--  
  
"So, Jak, what do ya wanna do today?" Jak shrugs, leaning against the fountain. Daxter frowns and taps his foot.  
"C'mon, all you've done since the date with Kira is daydream and eat. I'm bored to DEATH! Can't we explore or something?" Jak shrugs again and gestures off towards the beach.  
"No, no, NO! No WAY am I going out there alone again. Remember the pelican?!" Jak grins and nods. Daxter growls. "Hey, I was almost eaten! Have some sympathy for the ottsel!" Jak thinks for a moment, then shakes his head no. "Some help YOU are..." Daxter stomps off, fuming. Jak stares after him, shakes his head, and walks towards his girlfriend's house.  
  
@,--  
  
Daxter mutters to himself, kicking pebbles. He looks up to glare at a butterfly when a movement catches his eye. He glances towards it. Nothing.  
"Jak, if that's you, it's not funny. And if it's a lurker, you better get out of here."  
No reply. He shrugs, continuing towards the yakcow pen.  
A rustle of leaves.  
"Okay, Jak, this is REALLY not funny. I'd prefer you continuing to daydream."  
Still nothing.  
"Jak...? I'm getting creeped out, Jak."  
Nothing, null, zip, zero. He shrugs it off, and ignores the tingle between his shoulder blades. He continues his journey to the pens, although much more quietly. He slides down the steps, glancing behind him.  
When he turns back around, he is faced with the business end of a glaive.  
His eyes travel up the silvery blade, past the intricately carved staff and long, delicate fingers holding it, over the long peacock blue sleeve, to a stubborn pointed chin, determined mouth, pert small nose, and flaming reddish-brown eyes, all framed with pale grayish-gold hair tipped burgundy.  
  
TBC  
  
@,---*---'@  
  
HA! A cliffie! What will happen next? Find out next time on "Flowers"!  
Jo: Explain the name, Alana.  
Oh, that. Well, my concept art of the elf has her staff carved with flowers, a tiny rose button on her shirt, and (As said) petal-like strips of cloth hanging from her belt over green pants.  
Oh, BTB, did I spell "Kira" right, and how do you like my barriers?  
  
@,--  
  
OT: How does Yami (YuGiOh) keep his jacket on? The only parts touching him are the shoulders. And how does Bakura keep HIS jacket out like that? And what about Tristan's hair? And does Yugi/Yami use dye or gel? Why does no one notice how much taller Yugi gets and how he gets more blond hair when he lets Yami take over, not to mention his different eye shape? Why is it that when you hear Yami thinking during a duel, he has Yugi's voice? And-  
Jo: ALANA! That's enough!  
Why does no one on the show ever notice the obvious Yaoi or shonen-ai that is very evident everywhere you look?  
Jo: Did... You... Say... YAOI! YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI- YAOI!!!!!!!!!!!! ^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^  
^_^  
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	2. Hunteress

You'll notice that Jak is mute. In conversations involving him, usually he's the unspecified actions, and the unspecified speech is the other person. Ex: "Is your hair green and yellow?" Nod.  
~* Words *~ Thoughts  
@,-- Break in time/ POV change/ Scene change  
;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;  
  
@,-Flowers-'@  
  
part one: sandoverhead  
  
Huntress  
  
@,---*---'@  
  
The elf stares down at the fainted ottsel.  
"Well, that was useless," she whispers to herself. "Better take him with, though. I heard him talking, and I don't want him spreading word- if he's intelligent. Odd, for any animal to talk." She leans over, picks the ottsel up, slings him over her shoulder, and walks back up to her camp in the jungle.  
  
@,--  
  
Jak frowns. Kira notices. "Hey, Jak, what's wrong?" He gestures to his empty shoulder pad, then makes little talking motions with his hands. Kira laughs.  
"Don't tell me you're WORRIED about the little furball!" Jak nods, making a bird sign. Kira frowns along with him. "What, you mean the pelican?" Nod. "I'd think he'd have enough sense to stay away from the beach after it tried to eat him." Jak nods, but copies the huffy, offended look Daxter had as he stomped off.  
"Hm, he MAY have gone back if he was in that mood. So, think we should go find him?" Jak nods. "Which direction do you want to go?" He makes a wave motion with his hands. Kira nods. "Then I'll go towards the jungle." They set off in their respective directions, Jak waving goodbye, Kira letting out a cheerful "Seeya soon!"  
She won't.  
  
@,--  
  
Daxter stirs and sits up, rubbing sand out of his eyes.  
"Jak, I had the STRANGEST- ACK! You're not Jak!"  
The strange elf smiles a little. It doesn't reach her eyes.  
"Say, what's so funny?" he asks suspiciously.  
"You rhymed." Her accent is strange but clear and concise. She looks back down at the blade of her glaive that she's sharpening. It makes quite an unpleasant sound. Daxter shudders. He looks around, gets up, and is pulled back down by the neck.  
"HEY! What's this thing?" he asks, feeling his neck. The elf glances at him again.  
"A collar." She now is sharpening a small knife she pulled from her belt.  
"Why do I have a collar?! Who're you?! Why are we in the Forbidden Jungle at NIGHT?!!"  
"I don't want you running off, and we're here because I walked here." She examines the knife carefully, then slips it into its simple sheath.  
"You didn't answer who you are..."  
"I know. You can call me... Yamikai. Yes, Yamikai, I like that name. So, what's your name?"  
~* Er... should I tell her? She doesn't seem SO bad... *~ She looks up at his prolonged silence. He shivers at her red gaze. ~* okay, that's freaky. *~ "M...My name is Daxter. Why... Why do you have so many weapons?"  
"Because I'm an assassin."  
Daxter gulps.  
  
TBC  
  
@,---*---'@  
  
Yamikai is a combination of two Japanese words- Yami, and Kai. Yami means darkness or dark, Kai means seashell. So, dark seashell. That's not her real name, of course. It's her business name. And the accent, well, think Bakura from YuGiOh- British, but not super British, and NOT cockney, but cultured.   
  
@,--  
  
OT: I like the concept art for her knife's sheath. It has a simple chevron pattern, but the last chevron is the bottom of a calla lily.  
  
@,--  
  
Well, R&R! ^_^ Now seeya!  
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	3. Drop

Peoples complimenting me! WOW! Thanksies to:  
  
Phoe-chan- I LOVE YOUR STUFF! Thanks for liking mine! (And Jak IS cute! ^_^)  
  
Shark- Here! Feed! May you stay at least partially hungry and have appetite for more!  
  
GoldensunShiba- ^_^ thanks for the compliment! Sheaira sounds like my Jo... Who just ran off to Misty Island. Third time this week. Ah well!  
  
The three of them- Kira, Jak, and Daxter- have developed whistle patterns. It's one of the few calls Jak can make, and if done properly, caries very far, making it the perfect means of communication.  
  
~* Words *~ Thoughts  
@,-- Break in time/ POV change/ Scene change  
*Words* Rough translation of what the whistles mean.  
  
;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;  
  
@,-Flowers-'@  
  
part one: sandoverhead  
  
Drop  
  
@,---*---'@  
  
Kira whistles five times- short, high long, low short, short, short. She listens for a reply to her inquiry. ~* Not even a REAL bird... *~ She whistles again, holding the high a little longer. A whistled song- Not a pattern call, but a message all the same. A nervous, jumpy tune- Distress, someone nearby. Kira frowns and pulls out the communicator.  
"Jak, Daxter whistled back, but he did a 'someone nearby' song. Meet me on the highest step to the jungle?" Jak nods on the tiny screen she's installed, and she shuts it off. She whistles.  
*Daxter, help's coming!*  
He whistles back.  
*Alone? Much danger here*  
*No. Two of us.*  
*Cautious! Danger heading towards you!*  
Kira barely registered this warning when a figure dropped behind her and hit the back of her head with the flat green pommel stone of a short dagger.  
  
@,--  
  
Daxter glares at Yamikai as she reappears in the clearing. Then he yelps and jumps, quite rudely being pulled back down by the collar's lead.  
"Ooh, are you in for it now! Kidnapping Kira! Samos is gonna KILL you, not to mention Jak!"  
Yamikai ignores him, setting Kira down and tying her feet together so she can't run, then the looks quietly down at Daxter.  
Need I mention the fact that he shudders under her creepy gaze?  
"Who is this 'Jak'?"  
"He's a HERO, that's who he is! My best bud, and that girl's boyfriend! He discovered WHITE ECO and kept dark eco from destroying the world, not to mention killed more lurkers then you've ever even SEEN! Helped by me, of course."  
She continues to look calmly down at him.  
"Of COURSE. There is no such thing as white eco. And, if he's so great, why have I never heard of him, and why would he need a furball like you to help him? Not a very heroic name, either." She sits down against a tree, pulling out a small leather-bound book and a fountain pen.  
  
@,--  
  
Journal:  
I'm currently using the name Yamikai.  
I somehow managed to acquire two captives my first day. One's a funny-looking rodent of some kind (he talks) and the other is a blue-haired girl, maybe fifteen. His name is Daxter, hers is Kira. Daxter heard me walking (I need to work on that) so I had to take him with me. He FAINTED. Well, at least that was settled quickly... Kira got too close to the jungle. I had to KO her. When I got back to camp, Daxter yelled how his hero friend 'Jak' would get me. Apparently Jak discovered White Eco (Ha! What a laugh) and saved the world. BTB, Daxter seems totally creeped by my eyes. Can I use this? Going out on another patrol now. Maybe I'll see the person I'm supposed to kidnap this time.  
~ Day Seven of Broadleaf Moon  
  
@,--  
  
Daxter glares at her as she gets up and stretches. He almost misses seeing the vivid pink scars up and down her wrists. He blinks twice and strains to see them again, but her long sleeves cover them now that she's finished with her stretch. She jogs off, only taking time to tuck the small book into her pack.  
  
TBC  
  
@,---*---'@  
  
So!  
Jo: So.  
Lily: So.  
Right. Umm, OK, well. So. REVIEW! OR DIE! SOON!  
Ember: Really?! ^_^  
No.  
Ember & Yami Alana: Aww... v_v  
BUT you CAN either kill the flamers, or roast people over the flames.  
E&YA: YES! (Fist pump) ^_^  
Ember: I vote we roast Rikku!  
Hey! Why her? She's... cute! Not at all annoying!  
Yami Alana: It's her cuteness that MAKES her annoying.  
Well... All right, as long as you don't accidentally roast my true love, Riku.  
Yami Alana: Mwahahahaha...  
Ember: Don't you DARE! Riku is so cute! Not as cute as, say, Leon or Cloud, but still cute!  
Back in the necklace for even THINKING about it.  
Yami Alana: Aww... (Disappears into the Millennium cat-thingamabob)  
Lily: That had absolutely no reason to happen. Shall I terminate this chapter?  
I have no clue what you just said, but yeah.  
Lily: Use the purple button, then the egress, please. Thank you for reading, and please return for the next part of this adventurous yarn. 


	4. Abduction

I just realized that some of you don't know what a Glaive is. It's a staff with a curved blade on one end. This isn't exactly what Yamikai's weapon is, but it's close. The only difference is that Yam's has a tiny blade curving the other direction. Sort of like this:  
(,  
The ( is the main blade, the , is the opposing blade. Get it?  
You Guys: Got it!  
Good.  
I don't know what'll be in this chap. I just got into a fight with my brother and watched Toy story, so it might be strange.  
  
~* Words *~ Thoughts  
@,-- Break in time/ POV change/ Scene change  
*Words* Rough translation of what the whistles mean.  
  
;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;  
  
@,-Flowers-'@  
  
part one: sandoverhead  
  
Abduction  
  
@,---*---'@  
  
Jak whistles shrilly. He thought Kira would be here by now, considering she was basically already there.  
~* Where is she?... *~  
He hears a sound and swivels to face it. Nothing. He turns towards the jungle.  
Another sound. A footstep, very quiet. He stays wary and calm. The footsteps halt. A tingle between his shoulder blades- someone is watching him closely.  
  
@,--  
  
Yamikai watches the boy intently. ~* He fits the description perfectly. A bit younger then I expected, but still a perfect fit. *~ She notes how he instinctively goes into a fighting stance as he senses her. ~* Well, this will be interesting. Let's see how good this guy is. *~ She steps out of the shadows, her glaive down and ready.  
"Hello."  
The boy nods to her, then tilts his head to one side in inquiry. She nods in reply- Yes, we are going to fight. They are both still for a moment. Then they both lunge at the same time.  
"Hi-YAH!'  
His punch sends her reeling for a moment, long enough for him to do a spin-kick. She dodges just in time, flailing out with the blunt end in hopes to trip him up. He jumps over, diving back down and almost knocking her into the land of dancing pink flut-fluts. (AKA, almost a KO) She snarls and slashes back, leaving a bloody streak on his right leg. She swings again, this time at his head, but he blocks with his left arm and swings under, almost hitting her stomach. She swings with the sharp edge while he recovers, hitting Jak's thick leather belt and knocking the breath out of him. He falls back just long enough for Yamikai to grab a tiny throwing star from a hidden pouch. The edges, though sharp, have a dull look. As Jak lunges again, she throws it, hitting him in the middle of his chest-ring. He stumbles past her, and falls over. Yamikai blinks in surprise.  
"Maybe I made the drug too strong." She shrugs and slings Jak over her shoulder effortlessly after pulling out the throwing star. "Must remember to use less poppy and sleep-lily juice..." She walks off into the woods, whistling an odd tune in minor key.  
  
@,--  
  
Daxter sighs as he hears Yamikai's footsteps and whistles. ~* She's back. Darn. I was almost hoping she would get eaten. *~ As she bounces cheerfully into the clearing, slinging Jak back off her shoulder, Daxter sighs.  
"Somehow, I'm not surprised you kidnapped Jak as well... Why do I feel like hitting my head on something?"  
Yamikai blinks. "This is Jak? I probably should have known." She grins. "You said you're his best friend, and she's his girlfriend?"  
"Yeah..."  
"Great! You can come with us to Fincayra!" She smiles happily and ties Jak's arms and legs, then plops down and pulls her journal out again. "We'll have to leave soon."  
Daxter blinks, perplexed, at this. "Er... Why?"  
Yamikai blinks back. "Because I'll need hostages for good behavior, and I'm sure Gaia will be happy to have you two. And Mol seemed lonely. She may take to one of you, and you won't be killed."  
~* Mol and Gaia? Too close to Gol and Maia... *~ "Wait a minute! KILLED?!"  
Yamikai nods. "I assume that's why Gaia wanted me just to kidnap him, and not kill him. It's on the List- never trust a lieutenant to kill the hero. Also on the List is to kill all of the hero's close relatives, vengeful friends, and double-crossing love interests."  
Daxter blinks a few more times. She sounded so cheerful. Yamikai walks over to Kira and shakes her. Kira doesn't stir.  
"Maybe I hit her too hard..." Yamikai pulls out a small bottle, flips the lid off, and waves it under Kira's nose.  
She has to jump out of the way as Kira sits up, coughing.  
"Darn, is it just me or are all my potions getting too strong?..." Yamikai sniffs the bottle and gags. "Less crystallized ginger and pepper..."  
  
TBC  
  
@,---*---'@  
  
That ended more humorously then I expected. Ah well! I like it. Those were the equivalent of smelling salts, BTB. R&R! ^_^ 


	5. Flutflut or Chocobo?

Thanks again to:  
GoldensunShiba: Thanks for all the good laughter?  
GrassDragon: (Imagines) it is, isn't it? ^_^  
Amandaxter: Thanks for the review, even if I can't really tell what you said...  
Phoe-chan: Amen to that! ^_^  
  
~* Blah *~: Thoughts  
@,--: Break in time/POV change  
  
;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;  
  
@,-Flowers---  
  
part two: New people, New places  
  
Flut-flut or Chocobo?  
  
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Kira looks around, confused.  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
Yamikai flips the bottle closed and smiles slightly. Daxter notices that, now, she's back to being distant and calm. ~* Why was she bubbly in the first place? *~  
  
"We are in the forbidden jungle. Daxter can fill you in on the rest." She pulls out the tiny dagger and sharpens it again. Daxter looks at her strangely. ~* What's up with her? *~  
  
"HA!"  
  
Everyone jumps at Daxter's yell. (Well, except Daxter)  
  
"I figured it out! You only put on the cold, heartless act! You're normally as cheerful as you were when you brought Jak in here, and the rest is a act to throw people off!" He beams at his cleverness.  
  
Yamikai looks at him closely. "Are you sure that it's not that I put on the bubbly-ness?" Daxter looks into her sanguine eyes. After a moment, he breaks the gaze, shivering again.  
  
Yamikai continues to stare at him, then nods and returns to sharpening the knife. After a while, she slips it into its calla lily sheath and brings out her throwing star and a bottle.  
  
@,--  
  
Kira thinks about the confrontation, looking sideways at the abnormally quiet Daxter. For some reason, her questions are met with total silence. ~* When Daxter doesn't even try to hit on me, you know something's wrong. *~ She glances at the elf she doesn't even know the name of. The stranger finishes spreading the thick liquid on the throwing star and tucks it into her hidden pouch, then stands up. She walks over to Kira.  
"Daxter isn't responding to you." A statement, not a question. "Call me Yamikai." The elf- ~* Yamikai *~ Kira corrects herself- studies her for a moment, then unties one of the ropes around her ankles. Suddenly, there's a foot and a half of rope between her feet. Then Yamikai kneels next to Daxter and unties the lead holding him down, wrapping it around her hand. Then she slings the still unconscious Jak over her shoulder effortlessly and looks expectantly at Kira.  
  
"What?" Kira asks nervously.  
  
Yamikai shakes her head. "Stand up. We're leaving this awful jungle."  
  
@,--(Author leaves computer to go back through Forbidden Jungle)  
  
They cross a bridge and cut through a circular formation of Precursor columns, Yamikai pausing for a moment to examine the inscriptions on the coppery metal. Kira can't help but notice that Yamikai's eyes are just a few shades darker then the structures. They climb a small, makeshift ramp of driftwood on the far side of the structures, dodge a spiked log, and walk up more driftwood ramps in a spiral around a tree. The sun starts to peek over the horizon, and the ruby light catches in the waterfall next to them.  
  
Kira gasps at the fall. The plank she is on shivers.  
  
Yamikai glances up at her (She's in the rear), then down at the cliff. "Huh, afraid of a little height?"   
  
Daxter speaks up for the first time. "I don't blame her- we are traveling with YOU." Kira shoots him a grateful smile. She determinedly looks away from the edge and continues up.   
  
The last piece of driftwood is perhaps ten feet long, stretching out and coming to rest between two large ferns. They climb the slight slope.  
  
Kira gasps again.  
  
Beyond the rocks edging the cliff, there is vast plain of short green grass. And when I say vast, I mean VAST. Nearly on the scale of the Calm Lands, they stretch as far as any one of them can see as tiny hillocks and dips.  
  
Now it's Daxter's turn to gasp, but for an entirely different reason.  
  
"AH! I thought I got away from flut-fluts!" Forgetting his fear of her for a moment, Daxter scrabbles up Yamikai's side and hides trembling between her neck and Jak's limp body. Yamikai actually laughs.   
  
Kira steps closer to examine them and almost trips over her ropes. Righting herself, she peers at the giant birds. "They aren't flut-fluts. I don't know what they are, but the neck's too long, and the coloration is different."   
  
Daxter peers out from his hiding place, then jumps out and dusts himself off. "I knew that!"  
  
The two girls glance at each other and burst out laughing. Daxter looks offended.  
  
"S...So, what ARE they?" Kira gasps out when the laughter recedes. Yamikai grins, her eyes dancing, and gestures at the blue-bodied, golden-winged and tailed riding birds.  
  
"What, you've never seen Flutabos?"  
  
@,--'--,-----  
  
You'll notice that I changed the big barrier. How do you like the new one? And PLEASE review? For me? (Puppy eyes)  
Jo: FLUTABOS? (Falls over laughing)  
Grr... They're cute! They're the size and build of chocobos, mostly blue, but with bigger wings (Golden brown colored), stronger legs (grey-gold), a long, flowing tail (also golden-brown), and a single golden feather curling from the top of their head over their dull gold beaks. ^_^ CUUUTESY!!!  
Jo: As cute as your brother.  
Ian: (appears) Then I guess they're really good looking! ~_^  
If they were as cute as IAN, I would have trashed the idea from horror.  
Ian: Grr...  
Jo: High five, Alana! (High fives with me) 


	6. Little bird, little bird

Sorry this took so long...  
  
OK, I know it's Keira, but I've been using Kira, and I'm not gonna change it this far into the story.  
  
Thanks to:  
  
Shark-- Well, obviously they're riding birds! ^^ What else WOULD they do with a cross between the FF and the J&D birds?  
  
Amandaxter-- That's OK, my brother's sort of like you. Wait, that's not a compliment...  
  
GoldensunShiba-- ^^ Thanks! And I won't forget Mol and Gaia.  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned J&D, I would be rich and own a huge house with lightning Internet. I'm thirteen and live in a rented house, and it takes ten seconds for FanFiction.net stories to load. If they do.  
  
~* Blah *~: Thoughts  
@,--: Break in time/POV change  
  
;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;  
  
@,-Flowers---  
  
part two: New people, New places  
  
Little bird, little bird  
  
@,--'--,-----  
  
Yamikai, her eyes still sparkling with mirth, whistles to the two birds. Daxter backs up nervously as the flutabos (Jo: cracks up) walk up.   
  
"Hello, little beauties. Will you let us ride you?" Yamikai coos gently at the riding birds.  
  
Daxter snorts. "Huh, talking to a bird? Bird brains, no doubt. For all of you."  
  
Yamikai and the bigger bird give him a Look. The elf gives a hard tug at the lead, making Daxter trip forward, and the bird pecks him ####### the head.  
  
"OW! What was that for, ya stupid bird?"  
  
The flutabo gives him another Look, then stalks over Yamikai. She smiles slightly at it, rubbing its beak, then turns to Kira. "So, do you know how to ride?"  
  
Kira nods. "Yep. In fact, I'm the best besides the Birdwatcher." She had always prided her self on this.  
  
"Well then, get on one. Gaia'll kill me if I'm late."  
  
Kira looks askance at Yamikai. She wasn't sure if Yamikai'd been joking or not.  
  
@,--  
  
"ACK!"  
  
Daxter, for the third time, falls off of Jak, who is currently tied down behind Yamikai and still unconscious. Yamikai rolls her eyes at Kira. Kira rolls hers back as Daxter scrambles back on to Jak, almost slipping off again.  
  
"Why couldn't we have good old Flut-fluts? At least THEY don't bounce all over and try to throw you off. Whose absurd idea WAS it to spoil a perfectly good bird?" Daxter whines loudly.  
  
Kira covers a giggle. "I thought you hated Flut-fluts, Daxxie."  
  
"Well, I DO, but..." He notices Kira's almost about to fall off HER flutabo from laughter. "Hey, it ISN'T funny!"  
  
"Right, collar boy!"   
  
Yamikai shakes her head. ~* How did I get stuck with these two? I'm getting to be FRIENDS with the girl, and that's a definite no, and I almost like that rodent. Almost, though. He's too ANNOYING... *~ She shakes her head again. ~* If cute in a fuzzy, rat-like way. *~ (A/N: OOH! Possible pairing?... Nah, I have other plans for Daxter. *Evil snicker*)  
  
Jak starts to stir behind Yamikai. Her ears twitch as Daxter falls off yet again.  
  
"Hey! Jak's awake!" Daxter bounces back like a rubber ball (A leashed one, that is.) "JAK! Get up, old buddy! DON'T look into the light, Jak, DON'T LOOK INTO THE LIGHT!"  
  
Everyone- including Jak, who he's standing on- gives him odd looks. Then Jak looks around with a slightly confused look on his face, quite clearly stating "Where am I?"  
  
@,--'--,-----  
  
End chapter six. Shortish, I know, but at least I got it out... 


	7. Tingly Feeling!

*Is dead*  
  
YA: Er, Alana? *Pokes me with her toe*  
  
*Sits bolt upright* SEASEASEASEASEA! *Falls over*  
  
YA: ???  
  
Lily: Oh. *Nods wisely* She found out that Kai only means Sea- Seashell is kaigara or something like that.  
  
YA: Ah. So Yamikai would only be 'dark sea.' I see.  
  
EE: *Falls over from pun*  
  
Lily: *Throws a Phoenix Down at me*  
  
*Revives* Oh, guys, I'm SO SORRY! I haven't updated in forever! But I was working on my Kingdom Hearts fanfictions, mostly Experimental with the genetic experiments and heartless coming back and all, and my YuGiOh one, and, and, and... GOMEN!!! ;_; I'll work on this one 'specially hard for all my wonderful reviewers! ;_;  
  
THANKS TO: Amandaxter (Welcome!), Shark (It's funny! ^^), Phoe-chan (Thankya, but I can't send email. *Growls at Eudoura*), Tabby (Not surprising, I've only ever run across it in two other places), GoldensunSheba (Thanks!), Ecomaster (Yes, and VII as well- Thanks!), and Maniac 1 (Well, this isn't exactly soon, but I did update...)  
  
DIS: *Pouts* I hate this. Riku-chan, will you do it for me?  
  
Riku: *Blinks at being dragged out of Kingdom Hearts and called 'chan'* Er, sure...  
  
THANKSES, RIKU-LUV! ^^ *Huggles Riku, then wanders off humming One-Winged Angel*  
  
Riku: I knew she was insane when she created a kid that shares genes with Sora and me...  
  
*Wanders back* Don't forget Oni-chan, with genes from all three of you and bat wings who brought back the heartless! ^^ *Hums Simple & Clean... or maybe Hikari*  
  
Riku: *Edges away* Riiight... She only owns flutabos, the new people, the new places, the new plot, and a copy of the game. She doesn't own me-  
  
;_; Must you mention that?  
  
Riku: *Ignores* Naughty Dog, anyone/thing/place that Naughty Dog owns, or whatever poor guy she glomps at the end of the chapter.  
  
Actually, I'm thinking about glomping Gaia-chan, so I would own him! *Dreamy eyes at drawing in front of her*  
  
*Blah* : Thoughts  
  
@-,--: Break in time/POV change  
  
'whatever': Translation of whatever Jak's saying  
  
Small Bonus (AKA, boosting the number of words in this piece of junk):  
  
As told by the thesaurus...  
  
Precursor  
  
N. Precursor, Predecessor, ancestor, forbear, patriarch  
  
Adj. Precursory, preliminary, exploratory  
  
;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;  
  
@-,-Flowers---  
  
part two: New people, New places  
  
Tingly feeling!  
  
@-,--'--,-----  
  
Yamikai glares at Daxter.  
  
Kira glares at Daxter.  
  
Jak rolls his eyes at Daxter, more expressive than either of the girls.  
  
"Why do we have to ride these things?"  
  
"OH, JUST SHUT UP!!!"  
  
Both of the boys blink at the outburst. Kira continues to yell at Daxter while Yamikai glares straight ahead. Jak shrugs at females in general and tunes it mostly out, staring into space. After a while, Kira winds down and Daxter breaks out of his stunned trance to hide shivering behind Jak.  
  
"She's a demon, Jak! How can you like her?"  
  
Jak shrugs at Daxter and smiles.  
  
"So, uh, Jak, how are we going to get away?"  
  
Jak shrugs again, which Daxter correctly interpreted as 'Don't ask me, I have no clue!'  
  
"WHAAAAAA?! You haven't been planing? But we can't just let that gal drag us off every which-way! We need to escape!"  
  
Jak shrugs once again. 'Why?'  
  
Daxter falls off the flutabo.  
  
Yamikai ignores them all and urges her bird towards the right, where a small stand of trees... Stand. *About time we got here,* she thinks to herself. *It's almost sunset.*  
  
When they reach the grove, Yamikai tugs on the tether between her and Jak's flutabos. Jak's bird jumps forward, and lands on an unobtrusive wood button, which activates a- you got it!- warp gate!  
  
Daxter stares at the wood-and-energy ring hanging from a sturdy branch. Yamikai glares at him. "Well? Do you need me to spell it out for you? Go through it." Daxter blinks and pushes Jak.  
  
"Here, ol' pal, you can go first."  
  
Jak glares in a 'oh, THANK you EVER so much!' way, slips off the giant blue bird, and steps through.  
  
Daxter glances uneasily at Yamikai, mutters something, and scrambles through after Jak. Both girls sigh in relief.   
  
"Do I REALLY have to follow Dax?" Kira asks. Yamikai shrugs.  
  
"Gaia never said anything, but I think you should come along as insurance for good behavior. Although if you keep on snapping at the rat, it won't work on him..."  
  
They both grin. Kira jumps at the warp gate, and Yamikai jumps in right behind her. The former pops out rather green.  
  
"That thing needs SERIOUS retuneing..." Kira leans against a wall, skin tone complimenting her eyes.  
  
Yamikai gracefully lands in the middle of the small, bright room, and notices even the ottsel looking sick. "What's wrong?" she inquires of the room in general, frowning.  
  
"The tingly feeling times ten with elements of how you feel when you get zapped by a toad in that awful swamp!" Surprisingly, both Jak and Kira nod in agreement with Daxter. "That... THING-" and he points at the still-active warp gate "-could kill someone who gets motion sickness!"  
  
The assassin shakes her head. "You get used to it second time through. Come on, I'm to talk to Gaia first thing." She pulls a small cube out of her pocket and presses on side into the wall next to the door made of the coppery Precursor metal, which slides open. They walk out into what is obviously a garage/workshop/living space for whoever works there, and about the size of Samos's entire house and with more Precursor junk than you could shake Daxter at. Yamikai scans the room, including the cot and a huge overstuffed chair in one corner, and sighs. Walking over to a door, she sticks her head in. "Of course he's asleep. What else would he be in the middle of the day?" Waving for the hostages to follow her, Yamikai removes her presence from the main room and applies it to the exceedingly odd... Not main room?  
  
Oh, who am I kidding. I'm a thirteen-year-old with a thesaurus who has crushes on game characters, not some stuffy old professor.  
  
Characters/readers: *Blink at the narrator, shake their heads, and go back to the story*  
  
Ahem... Where was I?  
  
C/R: -_-() Yamikai was walking into the other room.  
  
Ah! That's right! ^^ Thanksies!  
  
Yamikai leaves the main room and goes into the other, much smaller room, the ottsel and elves following her. The three hostages stare.  
  
The smaller room has more junk then a ten-year-old's closet, plastered to every free space and in a few places spaces that aren't free. Asleep across a desk cluttered with every sort of paper, guide, translator, and knick-knack you could name is a very tall, very pale elf, snoring gently, whom Yamikai goes straight to and pokes in the back of his spikey-haired head. He just mutters something in his sleep about finishing this one rune and snores a bit louder.  
  
If this were a story based on an anime, Yamikai would have either mushroom sighed or sweatdropped.  
  
As it is, she only gave a plain old exasperated and slightly amused sigh and shrugged. Leaning over the desk she yelled into his ear.  
  
"HEY! GAIA! WAKE UP!"  
  
Gaia just mutters something that sounds like, "But mama, it's Saturday..."  
  
This time, Yamikai's sigh is just plain old annoyed. Kira giggles from where she's standing in the door way, and Jak grins a little. Yamikai shrugs and lets out an ear-splitting whistle.  
  
Apparently, that method works. Lifting his head off the desk, Gaia blinks down with wide, dove-gray eyes at the paper covered with jagged symbols his head was lying on. Looking back at Yamikai, he absentmindedly runs a hand through his orangey-blond hair. "Faye-chan? You're back already?" Looking over her shoulder, he blinks again. "And with a escort or three, no less."  
  
Yamikai shrugs. "The guy's the guy you wanted me to get, the girl's his girlfriend, and the rat is his pet. An annoying pet, too."  
  
Daxter puffs up indignantly. "Rat? Pet?! I'm no one's pet, missy! I'm a sidekick!"  
  
The elf blinks once more. "It talks?" Leaning over, he pulls his goggles over his face and pokes at Daxter.  
  
"HEY!" Daxter pushes his hand away. "Hands off the merchandise!"   
  
The elf shrugs and turns back to Yamikai. "It's really Mol-chan who wanted to see them. Go on up to... Er, what time is it, Faye-chan?"  
  
"Could you drop the chan?" Yamikai asks, slightly annoyed. "It was almost sunset when we used the warp gate, so it's midday."  
  
He winces. "Ouch. I slept all morning. Well then, she'd be in the library, most likely, or maybe the Eco room." He pauses. "You do know how to get up there, right?"  
  
Yamikai nods to him. "Yes, Gaia. 'Luck."  
  
Gaia turns back to his desk, absently replying with "And to you, Faye-chan."  
  
Yamikai waves for the hostages to leave the room and starts them out of the workshop. Kira raises an eyebrow at her. "Faye-chan?"  
  
If this were based on an Anime, blah blah blah, you get the idea...  
  
"Faye's my real name, and he calls everyone chan." She mutters quietly, "Even when they ask him not to."  
  
Kira's eyebrow remains up. "He's cute, if not a hunk like Jak. And he seems to like you..." She grins at Yami- excuse me, Faye's absolutely appalled expression. "And he has good clothes sense, too."  
  
Faye makes a gagging noise. "Don't even go there, Kira. Just... don't. Anyway, it's unprofessional to fall in love with your employer."  
  
@-,--'--,-----  
  
End this chappie! *Glomps on to Gaia* He's so ADORABLE! With those luvly, soft gold spikes of hair and those little bits falling around his face and over his big grey eyes, and his straight little nose, *Kisses the aforementioned facial part* and his knee-length brown trench coat with bits of precursor metal on the left shoulder and his fingerless dark red gloves with more P. metal on them, and, and, and... I LUV HIM!!! ^^  
  
Gaia: Alana-chan, would you let go of me?...  
  
Hmm... Can I have your goggles instead?  
  
Gaia: *sigh* Fine, fine... *Hands me his goggles*  
  
Coolies! ^^ *Puts them on* Hey, everything's blue! ^^  
  
Gaia: Eheh... ^^;; Nothing's here, folks, that's all, go review this 1664 word chapter now...  
  
OI! HOW CUTE! HE MADE A CHEERY-SWEATDROP! *Glomps*  
  
Gaia: Erk... O_O 


	8. Relations

Reveiwers: Eco Master (Thank you, I will! ^_^) Amandaxter (Thank ya both, I will keep going.) Phoe-chan (Thank you for understanding! ^_^ And yes, J&D as an anime series would be funny.) nobinoir (Thank you, and yes it is Keira, but I'm to lazy to change it at this point. ^_^;;) Shark (Now that I think about it, they are rather alike... I would love to glomp both of them... ~_^) GSS (Thank you, I will.)  
  
Disclaimer: DM~G-CHA~AN! ^_^  
  
Black Magician Girl: No way am I gonna do your disclaimer. *Pulls Black Magician up* Here, he can do it.  
  
Okay, fine, fine... ^_^  
  
BM: *Grumble* That girl is a yaoi-loving crazy thirteen year old. Do you really think she owns Jak and Daxter? Or Yuu-Gi-Ou, for that matter? Do you WANT her to? If she did, we would have things like me and Yami no Yuugi snogging in his soul room... And she'd steal Yuki from PMS... And she'd find some way to pair Jak and Daxter together... And Keira would disappear for most of the game for some reason to make way for the boys...  
  
*Drooling at fic ideas*  
  
BM: See?  
  
Well, actually, I would have you and DMG-chan snogging, and Yami no Yuugi snogging Yuugi or Anzu, and JxD is just SCARY, but otherwise, that's about right. ^_^ I enjoy being me, don't you?  
  
EE: ...  
  
*Blah* : Thoughts  
  
@-,--: Break in time/POV change  
  
'whatever': Translation of whatever Jak's... Umm... saying?  
  
;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;;:;  
  
@-,-Flowers---  
  
part two: New people, New places  
  
Relations  
  
@-,--'--,-----  
  
On the boy's side of the court;  
  
"THAT was Gaia? Not what I was expecting." Daxter peers over his shoulder, using Jak's ear to balance. "Weird guy. Did you see his office? All that precursor junk. He was pre~etty strange."  
  
Jak sighs heavily and rolls his eyes. 'What did I do to deserve YOU, Dax?' He pulls Daxter's claws out of his ear.  
  
Yamikai shrugs at- FAYE! FAYE FAYE FAYE! HER NAME IS FAAAAYEEE!  
  
Characters: *Pause, then proceed to ignore the crazy thirteen-year-old in the corner hitting her head on the wall*  
  
Faye shrugs at them. "He is a bit odd, but it's mostly that he's constantly obsessing over something-or-other, and-"  
  
A short- very short- figure darts around the corner right in front of them, dodges around Faye and Kira, and slams into Jak, doropping something with a clatter.  
  
Faye blinks at the young girl.  
  
"Simi? What are you doing?"  
  
Simi turns her pale, thin face to Faye, shrugs absently, picks up the bottle she dropped, and runs off, wine red ponytails fluttering behind her.  
  
"YOU BRAT!!" Another person runs around the corner, breathing heavily, her blond topknot in disarray. She catches sight of Faye with grey eyes that seem to shoot sparks, for all their cool color.  
  
"Faye! Do you know what your sister has DONE?! She just stole a batch of my Aqua Eco! And yesterday, it was the Purple Eco! I need everything, and SHE keeps on taking it, locking it in your rooms, and climbing out the windows!" She grinds to a halt in her tirade, looking uncertainly at the people behind Faye. "Is... Is that JAK?"  
  
Faye nods, opening her mouth, but the look in the woman's eyes shifts from anger to shock to absolute wonderment, and she rushes up to Jak before Faye can speak, shaking his hand vigorously with both of hers. "You're THE Jak? The only person to ever channel White Eco Jak? I can't believe it! I never thought Faye could pull it off, but here I am, talking to Jak, one of the greatest Channelers in the known world! And powerful enough to get rid of my half-sister and her half-brother when they corrupted themselves with Dark Eco- Cittam told me all about it, how you defeated their giant robot against all odds, and-"  
  
Jak shoots Kira a "Help me!" look as the woman continues to babble, still shaking his hand. The woman gushes about how she's heard everything about his various achievements, from defeating Klaww to making it through the Lava Tube alive, "With defective and primitive technology, no less!"  
  
Kira positively seethes at the last comment.  
  
"Hey, I don't know WHO you are-" The green-haired elf pushes between the woman and Jak, crossing her arms over her chest, "But that 'defective and primitive technology' is MINE, and-"  
  
"Oh, YOURS, is it?" The woman looks down her snub nose at the taller teenage girl in front of her. "Well, that would explain it."  
  
Jak did not like this woman one bit.  
  
Daxter, free to laugh at Kira now that she was officially Jak's girlfriend, would like this woman a lot if she had seemed to notice him at all.  
  
"Although..." The woman pushes around Kira, who lets out a angry "hey!" at the dislocation, "I never did introduce myself. I am Molindriana Setnovantigo, but you can call me Mol."  
  
Jak lets out a very uneasy smile, a mix of 'er, hullo,' and 'Get me the hell away from this maniac!'.  
  
Mol blinks at the lack of verbal reply.  
  
"Oh, in case you didn't notice, lady," layers of sarcasm cover the last word like gaudy paint, "My buddy Jak is rather mute."  
  
Blinking again, Mol looks at the ottsel perched on Jak's shoulder. "Oh! The talking rat! Cittam mentioned you, too.  
  
Daxter gapes at the woman, then snaps angrily, "Hey, I'm a OTTSEL! But even rats would look better than YOU, ugly excuse for the supposedly fairer sex!"  
  
"Why you..." The angry fire returns to her eyes, and Mol's sturdy hands curve into claws. "When I get my hands on you, RAT, I'll... I'll..."  
  
With a small squeak at the look on Mol's face, Daxter scrambles to get as much of Jak between him and the woman as possible.   
  
Faye shakes her head, commenting to no one with a large amount of irony coloring her voice, "I think I see the start of a beautiful relationship between those two."  
  
@-,--'--,-----  
  
Poor, poor Jak. *Evil chuckle* I can't wait until next chapter, with more of the beautiful relationship and Faye's sister Simi. And I can't believe how much information I fit into this chapter... *Wide eyes at everything Mol said* If you actually READ it all, there's quite a bit of important stuff fitted into the rambling.  
  
Also, would anyone reading this like to suggest names for the various Sandover and Rock Village inhabitants? And anyone else who doesn't have suggestions can review anyway...*Hint hint*  
  
Ja ne!  
  
PS: Feel free to ask as many questions as you like about anything that won't ruin the plot! I love answering that junk. ^_^ 


	9. Little Flames

Why I haven't updated:

Alana: ARGH!!! THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL ME!

Alryune the Heartless: Smirk -Come along, little writer. Aku wants to have a word with you. Or, perhaps... We should kill Jak-tachi?-

Alana: NOO! Let me go, you evil thing! Experimental can wait a day!

Alryune: - Fine, then. You leave me no choice.- : )

(Swarms of Heartless appear to try and drag me back to Kingdom Hearts)

Alana: ACK! ITAI! NOO!

(Alryune stands to one side, smirking, as the NeoShadows and LupeShades drag me back. Until...)

Alana: Glare You are mindless drones, murkying up my reader's interest! In the name of Interesting Stories, Original Characters, and Yaoi, I shall punish you! Does a little shoujo-transformation thing, sans stripping in favor of morphing and lots of gold bubbles Rei... Enpitsu... POWER!

(Millions of miniature mechanical pencils, all glowing gold and pearl, shoot out in all directions, and the Heartless evaporate)

Alryune: -Drat you, Sailor Creativity! I'll get you next time!-

Yami no Alana: Pops out of a Plot Hole and grabs Alryune's ear No you don't. Let Mou Hitori no Ore-sama write, or she'll yell at me.

Alryune: -Fudge and darnnation... - Gets dragged off-screen

Alana: Phew. Sighs I'm starting to regret creating her...

Multiverse Policeman: Walks up to Alana Excuse me, would you be Alana 'Hikari-chan' Deckert?

Alana: Er... Yeah?

Policeman: Holds up a folded piece of paper I have right here the fines and debts for destruction of property, body, and mind your muses have inflicted. Until everything is paid, your muses will be imprisoned on Misty Island, and we request that you do not aid in their escape by writing until debts are paid off.

Alana: Takes paper Er... Meaning?

Policeman: Enforced Hiatus.

Alana: Oh... Unfolds the paper, watching it stretch out... and out... and out... Oh, Kami-sama, this is gonna take a while...

A couple months later...

Alana: Wahh! I'm broke! This means I can't buy the new YuGiOh manga! ;;... Sighs Well then, I better update or something... Sits down at her computer

Dad: Pops out of the woodwork No ya don't, not 'till you clean your room! Unplugs the keyboard and wanders off with it

Alana: ... Well, bleep. Sighs and wanders off to RP

One summer vacation later...

Alana: I WILL update SOMETHING this summer! Shakes her hand at the sky No matter what anyone does to stop me! Finally cleans her room

Dad: Good job, Alana! Plugs keyboard back in

Alana: Yay! - Starts to update-- but becomes engulfed in a mountain of textbooks KYAAAA! x#

A few weeks later...

Alana: Digs hersself out Hu... hu... huff... Stumbles to the computer and hits "Upload" Finally... Dies

And hence, this chappie is very late.

Warnings: Heh... Gaia being bouncy, pointless small talk, and general funness. I really needed to get away from all that darkness Alryune's trying to drag me back to... Smacks away Heartless, Angst, and other dark things

Reviews: Amandaxter (Thanks, I will) nobinoir (YES! I got it just a few days after you left this review. ) kiz (You have been? Yay! And... actually, no I don't get the point, but that's okay. And Jak... He's gonna get a fangirl. Heh. ) darkleena (Thank you! Updating!) Shark (Grin) Jak's Gal (Because I'm a fanfiction authoress, and yes, it is cool, isn't it? Grin)

Disclaimer: Faye-Faye, Mol-baka, Gaia-koi, and Simi-sweet all belong to me. Huggles - Aren't they kawaii? And I also own anything else I came up with-- Like Flutabos, Fincayra, and the lyrics to "Always On My Mind". Otherwise, ain't mine, so don't sue... like you'd get anything. Pokes the twenty dollars she got for returning a broken FFIX to Software, Ect.

Blah : Thoughts

-,--: Break in time/POV change

'whatever': Translation of whatever Jak's saying.

-,-Flowers---

part two: New people, New places

Little Flames

-,--'--,-----

Journal:

Life seems a LITTLE chaotic right now. I can't get "Always On My Mind" OUT of my mind, Kira is playing matchmaker between me and Gaia, Molindriana is constantly gushing at Jak- Apparently that thing Daxter said about White Eco was true, although I still find it hard to believe- I haven't gotten paid, and Simi keeps on snatching Molindriana's hybrid Ecos. I can't wait for everything at Nut Hut to be finished up so I can just LEAVE all this. It's very... Disturbing.

I want to go HOME, where people don't act as if I'm either tainted or nonexistent, and being an assassin is something you learn in school. I miss political intrigue, and fat, rich elves running around wasting money, and the NORMAL sort of excitement of daily life-and-death situations. I can't deal with all this... SMALLness.

Well, at least I'm Fayendri Nimukashna again. Yamikai the Assassin was getting on my nerves, I'm afraid.

Also, I need to brush up on my Precursor Glyphs, but I can't find my book anywhere. That is ALSO getting on my nerves. Along with the constant echoing of 'Don't you leave mee, darkness falls! Please protect me beyooond!" as sung by Mikaru, and Gaia's just as constant habit of calling me 'Chan' even when I ask him not to. And the mood swings are getting worse- both the moods themselves and the frequency.

By Enma and purple Precursors, my problems are trivial! I want to go home!

I'll stop whining now...

-,--

"FAYENDRI! YOUR SISTER! SHE HAS DONE IT AGAIN!"

Faye winces at the all-too-familiar screeching of an angry Mol and closes her journal. "YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIL LIKE AN ANGRY FISHWIFE!" Faye calls back, wishing SHE had a fish so she could smack Mol across the face with it.

Mol slams open the rather flimsy wooden door to Faye's small apartment, breathing heavily, a bokken of Precursor metal clutched in her hands. "Siminoch HAS TO GO!" screams the older elf. "This is the FIRST TIME I've been able to meld the R-G Eco, and she steals ALL OF IT!"

Wincing again at the grating tone of a very angry Mol, Faye throws her journal at the woman. "Well, it's not my fault if you can't keep an amateur thief out of your supposedly secure lab! I can't control my sister anymore than the rat can fly!"

Mol glares. "Well then, you'd better get Daxter to start flappin'! You WILL get that DEMON under control!" She spins around, pulling the door shut as hard as she can in a dramatic exit.

Faye grins venomously as the wood breaks, half the door falling on Mol. "Serves her right" is muttered under her breath as the other elf swears colorfully.

After a moment, Mol shakes the remains of the door off of her, glares again at Faye, and storms down the hall. Then, a minute of silence.

"FAYENDRI!!!"

-,--

Kira and Gaia talk animatedly over lunch, Jak absently nibbling on some roast drumstick as he reads a book, and Daxter remains amazingly bored. So bored, in fact, that an appearance by the gushing blond Jak-fangirl demon (AKA Mol) would be welcome as something to break the monotony of being ignored.

Scratch that- Nothing would make Daxter wish Mol was there.

Suddenly- amazingly- shockingly!- well, apparently normally... Screams ring through the oversized hut.

Well, not really screams.

Screeches, perhaps.

Daxter nods to himself. Yep, definitely screech. No doubt.

Also apparently normally, Faye's little sister skitters through the small dining room, over the table, between Kira and Gaia, past Daxter, and out the door, a jar glowing a sort of sickly dull brown clenched in her hands.

Daxter decides that following Simi might be a way to get rid of boredom, if not the state of Ignoredness he's currently hovering in. And anyway, any direction Simi heads is likely to be a direction Mol is NOT in.

Directions Mol is not in are GOOD directions, in general.

Daxter scrabbles under the table and off behind Simi, thankful (for once) for the speed and agility of his fuzzy two feet of self.

Jak raises an eyebrow, then looks back down at his book.

-,--

"Where does that brat GO?!"

Mol rants at her nodding brother, Gaia tracing his fingers over the rounded Precursor Glyphs.

"I mean, there's only so many places she can take my Eco, and she HAS to stay in the hut! I mean, there're all those nasty Lurkers, she can't go outside, right?"

"Right... Oi, hand me that book you're sitting on..."

"And I BUILT this place, I know ALL of it, but does that help me find her? No!"

"Ahh, calm, calm. It's not so bad, Sis. She doesn't steal all the ordinary Eco you collect." Gaia taps one of the Glyphs, then frowns. "Hey, let's go up to the roof... Bring your goggles."

"Meh... You weren't even listening, were you?"

"'Course I was."

-,--

Jak blinks, his ears twitching as a resounding boom echoes through the house, followed by a even louder "YEAH!" and the thumps of feet the roof. Heavy thumps. In circles. As of a really silly victory dance.

Three guesses who it is, Jak thinks to himself, shaking his head in amused tolerance.

The footsteps thud away, and a moment later, Gaia bounces into the large center room. "Jak-kun! Guess what?"

A green eyebrow twitches up. 'What?'

"I figured out an ancient-Precursor-glyph! I figured out an ancient-Precursor-glyph!" Grinning, Gaia bounces off, sing-songing those words over and over.

About five minutes later, Gaia shouts, "I AM GREAT! FEAR MY WICKEDLY GOOD LINGUISTICAL SKILLS!"

Daxter jumps up to Jak's shoulder, whispering, "If you do, I'd seriously have to worry about you."

Jak grins.

-,--

"FAYENDRI MIZAKAOSHINTE NIMUKASHNA!"

Keira raises an eyebrow at the other elf. "Mizakaoshinte? What sort of middle name is that?"

"One you get from over-enthusiastic parents. But it's better than Simi's- hers is Forsythintsukinishuyinlaxniakcinthilicturtiumony."

Keira blinks a few times. "Wha... How do you REMEMBER that?"

"You write it down, and then you sing it. And sing it again. And again, until it becomes automatic, and you can take out the melody." Faye shrugs. "Pretty basic, if you know how to do it."

"... My middle name is Levlin, nice and short and boring."

"I once knew a Levlin. Sweetest, most boy-crazy girl in my village. You just wanted to smack all those giggles out of her, most of the time."

"Er." Keira glances guiltily in Jak's direction, where he stands patiently attentive (Sort of) to Gaia's ramblings.

"Oh, don't worry. You're not quite as bad as she was." The grin Fayendri sends Keira's way is anything but reassuring.

-,--

"Faye-chan?"

Faye looks up at Gaia, tilting her head at his pleading expression. "What is it?"

"Erm. I was thinking."

"Very amazing, I'm sure."

Gaia looks blank. "Well. I sorta need the hut to myself, and I was wondering if you could take everyone out to Fincayra proper so I could work without distraction?..."

Faye smiles. "Sure, Gai'. How soon do they need to be gone?"

"Er... Now?"

"They'll be gone before you can say Forsythintsukinishuyinlaxniakcinthilicturtiumony."

"Wha-" Gaia blinks. "For-syth-in-huh?"

Faye grins, darting around him to collect all.

-,--

Daxter scampers along next to Simi, chattering cheerily to the silent girl.

"Ah, what a BEAU-tiful day! Did I ever tell you about the time I saved the world? It was easy, really- except for this one time, with these TEN Lurkers! There I was, standing in all my furry beauty, as these nasty creeps surrounded me, and I barely had enough time to push Jak out of the way as all FIFTEEN jumped us at the same time! And BANG! All I had to do was grab some of the Red stuff, twitch, and all TWENTY were down, but another FIFTY came at us just as those few fell! So with my uber-super-great Eco powers, I jumped at the SEVENTY new ones, and before you could bat an eyelash on a hip-hog with a nervous twitch, there were TWO HUNDRED Lurkers lying at my glorious orange feet! Not counting the few hundred from earlier."

Simi giggles silently, scratching the ottsel behind the ears, as Jak rolls his eyes in an incredibly vocal way. AKA, 'That lie is bigger than Snowy Mountain.'

Keira watches the two silent members of their party with curiosity. "Faye?"

Faye turns from her fight with Mol, absently grabbing a sharp-nailed hand before it can swipe across her face, and smiles pleasantly. "Yes, Keira?"

"Is your sister completely mute?"

"Yup." Faye turns away, hissing a insult to the blond elf trying to kill her with Fury Swipes, releasing the hand so that Mol can back away hastily. Glancing back at Keira, Faye notices a curious gleam still lingering in the green-haired elf's eyes.

"Do you know why she's mute?" Keira twirls a lock of hair around her fingers, head tilted inquiringly. "I mean, we never found out with Jak, since no one knew him before he came to Sandover, but you sister is younger than you..."

"Ah." Faye gazes reminiscently into the distance. "Well, funny thing is, she just stopped making noise one day. I wasn't there, out on a side mission to this big thing I was working on at the time, so all this I heard from other people. But she went out to see Anala, and came back without her voice." She taps her chin thoughtfully. "Lessee, she was staying with... Oh, that's right, the Feza clan. Nas said there was nothing wrong with her, besides that she never spoke again."

"Huh." Keira, dissatisfied but knowing that's all there would be, quickens her pace to join Jak.

Because of this, they are the first to turn the last corner, crest the last hill, and see Fincayra.

Woah.

Below them, spread like a jewel-toned rug lays a rambling cliff-side village, a sparkling creek winding though the center to tumble like a million diamonds over bright sandstone towards the ocean. Curved tiles of the impossibly resilient Precursor metal roof the brightly painted houses and the beaten path widens into a cobblestone road as it reaches the first house.

"Hey, Mech girl, keep moving!"

The magic of that first suspended moment vanishes as a bristling Keira turns on Mol, and a proper catfight ensues.

'WOMEN.'

Daxter sighs, patting Jak's leg comfortingly. "I know, pal, I know. It's amazing how things that beautiful can be so exasperating."

Jak nods, sighing as girlfriend and fangirl battle it out. Then, Daxter scrambling up onto his shoulder, our favorite hero sets off down the hill to the sparkling village of Fincayra, Fayendri following a few steps behind and pulling an angry Mol along behind her, Keira and Simi tailing the group.

YES! DONE! It took me forever, but here's the next chapter! -


End file.
